Illumiroom – The Future of Gaming?

Written by 5ivecanons Staff

Every couple of years the video game industry wows its audience with revolutionary changes. It appears that the next great thing is here, the Illumiroom.

In the past, revolutions have come through graphical improvements, (PS3, XBOX 360), more powerful portable gaming consoles, (Gameboy, PSP), or making the user the controller, (Wii, Kinect), gamers are constantly ready for more.

Unveiling The Illumiroom

The Illumiroom was unveiled at the Consumer Electronic Show 2013 through the Samsung booth. Although this concept is nothing new, its mapping and display are, (Microsoft filed a patent on its “Immersive Display Experience” in 2011). Despite laying relatively low throughout most of CES 2013, Microsoft’s Illumiroom is starting to garner attention leading into the E3 gaming conference.

Your 17-inch tv can expand to 60-square feet of entertainment.

Many blogs and tech sites are saying that the illumiroom will be paired with the next generation Xbox, (dubbed as the Xbox 720) to create a completely immersive gaming experience. The Illumiroom presents an exciting idea – you can expand your 17-inch tv to over 60 square feet of entertainment.

Gaming Capabilities

As exciting as the prospect of the illumiroom is, it will not be revolutionary for all games. Some games are just not built for this type of technology. Titles such as Guitar Hero, The Sims, and World Series of Poker will not be ideal for the Illumiroom, they simply don’t have enough peripheral action to justify its use. On the other hand first person shooters (shown in the above video) as well as sports and driving games. It can be an extension of the gamescreen, or just add effects such as rain or sparks.

By adding the Illumiroom to a first person shooter game, (Call of duty, Halo, etc.) it will eliminate the need for the player to constantly check his or her surroundings. Those surroundings will be displayed across the back wall, giving them a larger viewing area. In games such as Madden and NCAA football, a common headache is when receivers go out wide, you can no longer see them on the screen. That issue will be solved through the Illumiroom. Even driving games have their benefits of Illumiroom (as shown in the above video when the snowfall gives a nice ambiance)

Is it For Real?

Despite the teaser video from CES and Business Insider projecting software similar to Illumiroom being used in the next XBOX, there are some serious doubters. Nachiket Mhatre from Tech2 feels that this technology will not be hitting store shelves anytime soon. In his article he states that the Illumiroom is merely too expensive for gamers’ tastes, is too reliant on game developers modifying for the Illumiroom, and it is really nothing new.

Only time will tell if Mhatre’s claims are accurate, but one thing is for sure, although not groundbreaking, Microsoft has a mesmerizing product that would be a force if paired with the next XBOX.

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